Customer Success Stories Read how the following organizations have built up simulation skills, using SIMUL8 simulations to maximize business performance.
General Motors, Manufacturing/Automotive GM increase throughput by 5% without increasing costs GM used SIMUL8 to model their complex assembly line process. Bottlenecks were identified and different ways to avoid these were evaluated and tested. The simulation revealed that by removing 2 carriers, a blocked effect could be avoided. This allowed GM to increase throughput by 5% to meet increased demand, without increasing costs. An increase in workload was simulated, revealing bottlenecks at certain parts of the process By redistributing resources to improve uptime at bottlenecked areas, throughput could be increased It also revealed that by removing 2 carriers, a blocked effect could be avoided, and throughput increased by 5% The carriers were then used for spares, further improving production rates Inputs included; maintenance rules, staff resource patterns, as well as four body styles being produced on the line and different variants and customer options for each body style on a Just In Time basis The changes led to manpower savings and allowed them to remain flexible to return to lower production rates if demand slowed down
Chrysler, Manufacturing/Automotive Chrysler on target to save $5 million using SIMUL8 Chrysler were challenged with improving efficiency and reducing costs in their manufacturing plant. A Line Speed Reduction tool created using SIMUL8 was used to balance the lines in the assembly shop, resulting in efficiency gains. The practice has been rolled out to 8 more plants and more simulation projects are underway. Using simulation meant that different production schedules could be tested in a risk free environment The dedicated throughput and simulation team developed a Line Speed Reduction Tool with SIMUL8, which was used to balance the lines in the assembly shop Critical bottlenecks were identified and throughput could be improved The best performing lines were identified and slowed down. It was seen that a reduction in manpower on the lines would have no effect on throughput. As a result, manpower costs were reduced by $600,000 per year without affecting throughput The practice has now been rolled out to 8 more assembly plants with projected cost savings of $5 million
Boston Scientific, Manufacturing/Pharmaceutical Boston Scientific saves $150,000 with SIMUL8 Challenged with identifying areas of inefficiency in their cardiac battery manufacturing line, Boston Scientific used SIMUL8 to simulate the production process. Bottlenecks were identified and from this, various scenarios were tested to improve efficiency resulting in savings of $150,000. Boston Scientific previously used spreadsheets to model capacity, which provided static results with no statistical variance. The spreadsheets couldn t take into account real life variability, producing inaccurate results By using simulation, the production process could be visualized and revealed a queue build up on the line that wasn t identified in the spread sheet The discovery of a queue build up at the backfill process was key to adding time limits and strategic WIP to counteract bottlenecks in the backfill This offset the cost of direct labor to manage the backfill inventories for a saving of approximately $150,000
Wyeth, Manufacturing/Pharmaceutical Wyeth Pharmaceutical save in excess of $1m with SIMUL8 Wyeth used SIMUL8 for two different projects, both taking less than a month from start to finish. Simulation allowed risk-free testing of the redesign of material storage and system management. It also helped Wyeth make an informed decision regarding the trade-off between wasted stock and a new validation process (technique of prolonging shelf-life). Ultimately, $1-$2m was saved. The simulation revealed that by changing the way they managed their water purification system they could gain capacity and avoid expansion costs of between $600k and $1.2m A redesign of storage resulted in less storage bins being needed, freeing up floor and rack space, producing savings of $20-30k A validation process, prolonging shelf life of raw material, requiring large investments was modeled to assess if the savings in material would justify the investment The simulation showed that the new process is able to deliver savings of $300k/year and justified the investment In total $1m to $2m was saved in less than a month
Hewlett Packard, Manufacturing HP saves $100,000 annually & achieved productivity gains SIMUL8 was used by HP to simulate their production lines in order to determine the most effective set-up, as well as to illustrate delays and constraints within the process. Opportunities to eliminate nonvalue adding activities were presented, resulting in savings of $100,000/year. The inputs for the simulation needed to be a comprehensive mix of data; cycle times for process stages, machinery failure rates, labor availability, shift patterns and storage capacities By varying orders and labor availability, the most effective production set-up was identified Major constraints were highlighted within critical processes and allowed for construction of the correct event sequence and buffer sizes to keep the major constraint(s) fully utilized The simulation Increased understanding of manufacturing processes and the ability to do capacity planning
London Gatwick Airport, Business London Gatwick Airport improves customer experience with SIMUL8 Gatwick Airport in London, UK, is the most efficient single runway airport in the world serving over 34 million passengers per year. Their Six Sigma team worked with SIMUL8 to improve the passenger experience. This included using real-life data on passenger flow to improve the check-in process, queue times and airline efficiency without increased investment. Improved the check-in process by reducing wait times and queue sizes The simulation used Gatwick s real data including flight schedules and airline information SIMUL8 gave them the flexibility to plan for disruptions such as delayed flights, seasonal variation and changes in passengers numbers Gatwick are able to test changes in a safe environment before implementing in reallife, avoiding disruption to passengers Assisted communication with staff by allowing them to visualize the process Gatwick are continuing to use SIMUL8 to improve other areas of the airport
BAA, Business BAA increases airport check-in efficiency with SIMUL8 The BAA international airport in Glasgow, UK, serves millions of passengers per year. Due to check-in area size constraints and for passenger convenience they needed a more efficient way to check-in travellers. Simulation was used to test different options to best utilize the facilities available and to minimize the waiting time and the distance that passengers were required to walk. SIMUL8 accounted for the variable arrival rates of the passengers and the departure times of the aircrafts The option to hot-swap check-in desks was shown to be most efficient The desired goal that no passenger should wait in a check-in line for more than 12 minutes was met The technique pioneered by Glasgow Airport is now used throughout the world
Johns Hopkins, Healthcare Johns Hopkins Transplant Center improves process efficiency with simulation Faced with increasing demand and limited resources, Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center worked with NovaSim (SIMUL8 Certified Solution Providers) to develop simulations with the aim of improving process efficiency. Simulation led to increased understanding of the complex transplant care process, enabling Johns Hopkins to better use its limited resources to the advantage of their patients. Transplant care is a complex process, with each phase requiring a different mix of staff resources and treatment times. Many of the staff resources are highly specialized with varied availability patterns After establishing resources required, the flow-through of each stage leading to transplant and chronic follow-up was simulated Johns Hopkins then identified areas that would allow them to automate steps to offload staff responsibilities The effect of outsourcing some steps of the process was shown; limiting internal growth while still maintaining quality of care Ultimately, simulation helped Johns Hopkins to achieve better staff utilization and get more from their workforce without increasing labor costs
Memorial Health System, Healthcare Memorial Health System (MHS) uses SIMUL8 for investment decisions A 5% annual increase in the demand for surgeries prompted a proposal for expanding operating rooms. With a $31 million price tag, the design had to be right. Through simulation, different floor plans were modeled. Real-life variables were considered, which revealed bottlenecks that static models would not have recognized. The final plan will meet the requirements for patient flow for many years to come. With rooms split over two levels, initial plans included two elevators. Through the simulation, it was seen that this would not be adequate for flow, leading to staff and patient dissatisfaction. Different scenarios were tested, leading to an introduction of a third elevator The issue would have increased variation by 30 min/case, which was not seen through static models Simulation considered unpredictable variations and randomness, which allowed for better understanding and avoidance of misleading results, unlike static models Further Lean Six Sigma projects have now been chartered to streamline scheduling and Operating Room turnover processes to reduce variation and increase capacity
Powerful. Flexible. Fast.